Wednesday, December 4, 2013

2013 Branstetter Barn Holiday Tour

Welcome, welcome, everybody, to our holiday barn tour! And if you are new around here, I am super happy to have you! I am so ecstatic to a part of this 24-blog, Christmas home tour, hosted by the wonderful Krista from the "Happy Housie" blog. How truly giddy I feel.

I hope you all can kick up your feet, grab something hot and delectable to drink, put on some jazzy Christmas music to set the mood, and come tour our barn with me!

My husband and I moved to the German countryside last year with the military. We were so blessed to have found this 130 year old barn that was converted into a home next to the largest castle ruin in Germany! My landlord let us paint over its vibrant, pastel orange, yellow, and purple walls and we switched out all the light fixtures (we can take all the lights we purchased wherever we go) and started making it home. Fresh paint and dazzling lights can make all the difference in the world! It hardly feels like a rental anymore. Because we are on a strict (military) budget, everything you see in our place was built by us, someone else's throw-aways (that we have fixed up), or things we scored for next to nothing at flea markets. We want to save our money for traveling while we have the opportunity to live in Europe. We have had a blast creating a home here in Germany. We really feel as though it is an expression of the two of us and our journey together.

We are having the time of our lives exploring Europe and implementing old world, and folk design and traditions into our own home.

(To see before pics click on the "Home Tour" tab)

I will have to get a picture of our village castle (above) with snow once it decides to stick!

These little red mushrooms actually exist here in Germany, Can you believe it?! I thought they were just in the Mario Brothers video game!! Silly me...They are simply darling and the Germans love decorating with them for fall and winter festivities. I had to use them in our Christmas decor too.

Felted wool is commonly used in Germany and you will see booths decked out at the Christmas markets with handmade felted-wool clothing, crafts and decor. I was stoked to find these little felted acorns at our local discount market! Especially since velvet ones in The States cost a fortune!

My sweet husband and I designed and built the mantle in the picture below with old barn wood, a barn door and beams our landlord was about to dump. The decoration on the front was dug out of the trash, and after it was cleaned and painted, it added the perfect amount of embellishment to our cozy little fireplace. I am thrilled to be able to take the mantle we built (from parts of the old barn we lived in) any where we go! What a wonderful keepsake my husband and I have from our time here.

Recently, my girlfriend Jessica (also an interior designer) came to visit me and she suggested that I add a tartan bow-tie, donated by my friend Jackie's husband, to help make our little deer friend look a little more dapper!

Doesn't he just look so sharp!??

Move over Victoria's Secret, there is a sexy new angel in town!! I added a miniature set of wings to our golden hippo and he looks fierce...

I am loving my one Euro Tartan pillows (below), what a score they were! They sure give our room that English/Scottish country home feel!

We just got this wonderfully tacky and kitsch faux oil painting in Trier along with some gorgeous Florentine trays to add to my collection. The pipe is also a vintage flea market find that has a fantastic "gentlemen's" look. To learn how to create a mason jar snow globe, like the one pictured below, click here.

Our vintage skis were an amazing birthday gift from my friend, Ivona! I LOVE them and use them year-round! The tartan from the inside of our flea market luggage really compliments their warm wood tone.

Now, come along to our dining room!

It sure comes in handy that my husband and I have the same initials when we shop for monograms!

We have rearranged our dining room quite a bit and I love it's natural "flow" now! The pops of black make it a little more masculine and bring out the vibrant colors of our humongous vintage map.

Since candlelight changes the light and clarity of the pictures in our uber dark barn, I have some photos with and without the candlelight.

I also use our cocktail bar as a dessert bar! Decadent Christmas goodies go perfectly on my DIY holiday cake pedestals! These are so easy to make, check out the tutorial I did for my friends blog here!

Even our silhouettes are dressed and ready in holiday attire.

I placed some ornaments on our French bottle dryer to turn it into a bar-top Christmas tree.

Because we are known as the village hoarders, we received some gorgeous old doors and this antique drafting stool from our generous neighbors! The industrial stool is the perfect contrast to the frilly and more feminine sconce and chandelier. Our time zone clock wall has now moved into this striped hall since the map is now where the clocks were. I think the clocks look even cooler on the stripes! We love knowing what time it is in our home states (California and Kentucky) and imagining what holiday fun our family is up to.

Thank you so very much for coming to our home and celebrating the Christmas festivities with us! To see more of our home click the home tour box in the tab section above! Different seasonal looks will be in the side bar under seasonal.

Penny and I are off to visit our neighbors!!! Tschüss!

Be sure to check out all the other fabulous Holiday home tours by clicking the links below!

Each day this week, you can come here and click on these beautiful homes to get loads of inspiration once each tour goes live!Note: You cannot view the homes until the actual post date that is listed above the set of homes. They go live at 7pm Eastern Standard Time.

beautiful tour Molly....I am from Germany oroginally, so I get homesick when I see your pics.....I bet you won;t want to go back to the States after this!!! We travel home about every other year. Where exactly are you stationed? Greetings and thanks for visiting my blog!

HI Molly....I am from a small town near Wiesbaden (central Germany, near Frankfurt). Just an FYI --- when you reply directly on your blog to comments, most people wont get them (I just now found this out after 10 month of blogging). It works better if you reply to the emails you get. Does that make sense?

Hey there, Corey! I am beyond thrilled to have you! Thank you so much for stopping by! Aren't those little mushrooms just the craziest! Ah Germany is such a magical place! I hope you have the happiest of holidays!! xo

Oh I would so love to see Hungary! Are you enjoying The States??? I love Europe it is such a wonderful place! I just love about every place in the world I have been to hah! I hope you are having a cozy winter's day and thank you so much for stopping by! xo

Molly- your home is stunning! You are seriously seriously talented... wow. Wow! I LOVE so much about it that I can't even list it all - it is so full of character and interesting, unique collected pieces. How cool to get to live in Europe for a time! One of my closest friends lives in Zurich now and brings home Gluhwein spice when she comes home to visit for Christmas. Super thrilled to find your blog through this tour- following you now across the board!!

Krista, Thank you so very much for the opportunity to be a part of your Christmas tour! I can't thank you enough! You are so thoughtful to include me! I also really appreciate your sweet words! They truly make my day! That is so cool that you have a friend nearby, isn't glühwein the absolute best??? Yum, and so easy to make too! I am following you too! Loved your tour, such fun colors! I hope you are having a blessed day! xo

Miss Jen, Can I jest say, I love your last name!! It is so French sounding! Thank you so much for your sweet compliment, it warms my heart! I really appreciate you stopping by and I am so in love with your home! I hope you are having a blessed day! xo

Gorgeous tour, Molly! You have such great style! I love that you have so many unique pieces-- everything comes together so well! And what a great find with your rental! Thanks so much for sharing with us!

I don't even know where to begin, Molly! You know how much I adore your house and with it all dressed up for Christmas...well, it's just swoonworthy! I love golden hippo, the tree in the vintage suitcase, the drying rack, the little mushrooms and that amazing castle. You did a fabulous job!! Sharing on my FB page today ;)Hugs,Jamie

Jamie, that is so sweet of you! I feel the same about your home! thank you also for sharing on your Facebook! You are just the sweetest and so supportive! Honored I was able to do this with you! I hope you are having a fabulous day! xo

Wowza! O Holy Night!! Your home is beautiful!! I am in awe! I want this and that... and that and this!! I am so honored to be on this Holiday Home Tour with you! So, now that we're besties... when can I come visit?!? ;)

Oh my goodness you crack me up! "Oh holy night" what a great expression! I can't thank yo enough for your sweet words! Yes to all the above... I am pretty obsessed with your home tour...girly, you got the magic! Come anytime!! We can drink loads of wine and inspire each other! xoxox

Jennifer! Your sweet words always make me so happy! I LOVE your home tour and wish I could come visit and bring you antiques! Wouldn't that be so fun?? Your home is just the coziest and your family is the cutest!! Ah I love it all! I hope you are having the lovliest day!!

Thank you so much!!! Yeah I don;t believe we have them in The States! I just LOVE them!!! I hope you are having a wonderful weekend! By the way, love the snow on your blog!! How did you do that????? xo

Why thank you, Miss Tanya!! You made my day!! Come anytime you want! I will have some flea markets planned and spiced wine waiting for you!! I am so glad to be connecting with such awesome women through this home tour! Thank you so much for stopping by to leave me some love! I hope you a have a very Merry Christmas!!! xo

Oh my gosh! I want to hop on a plane right now and see your home in person! (and that castle you mentioned... haha!). I can't get over all the unique touches and reclaimed elements. How awesome that you were able to build your own mantel - and you can take it with you! Thanks for sharing!

Hey there!! Come on over, I would love a visitor!!! Oh I just loved your home tour as well! You have wonderful talent my dear! What a fun little even this was!! I can't thank you enough for your sweet words and taking the time to stop by and say hello!! I hope you and your family have a blessed holiday season!! xo

I LOVE how you and your husband are embracing life and thinking of this time as an adventure. Your home is lovely. I love the clocks with your family time zones....very thoughtful. You have such an eye for design and just fun decorating. Have a wonderful holiday time.

Woww these little red mushrooms are very cute.All the designs are very beautiful.I am thinking to go for a holiday tour.I have heard that spending Holiday In Sri Lanka is a best place to share some of your busy life..So I am planning to visit Sri Lanka soon.

Hey would yoou mind stating which blog platform you're using? I'm gooing to start my own blog in the near fujture but I'm having a hard time selecting between BlogEngine/Wordpress/B2evolution and Drupal.The reason I ask is because your layout seems different then most blogs and I'm looking for something unique. P.S My apologies for getting off-topic but I had to ask!

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